Kate Wart, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

This photograph of Kate Wart was produced by the Wm. S. Kimball & Co. cigarette company, as part of their 'Actresses' series. Trading cards like this were common marketing tools in the late 19th century. They offered companies an opportunity to associate their products with popular figures of the time, like stage actresses. Wart’s image, carefully posed and styled, reinforces the cultural norms of beauty and celebrity. The Kimball company used popular images to appeal to a broad consumer base, leveraging fame to sell cigarettes. This tells us a lot about the period's values, and the rising power of mass media. To fully appreciate this image, a social historian might research the careers of actresses like Kate Wart and the advertising strategies of the time. These sources help us understand the cultural context that shaped both the production and consumption of such images.